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NASB | 1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] |
Subject: Is sinless perfection possible on earth? |
Bible Note: Thread, I will just reply to my own post and give how I consider Romans 7. I want to say this issue that we are discussing does not stand or fall with Romans 7, but clearly it is of great interest. The context of this entire section is the question in Rom 6. Rom 6:15 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Paul has just spent a great deal of time in Romans defending that we are freely justified by Faith in Christ apart from any works of the law. Now Paul is dealing with the natural question which follows. If we are teaching that the law and obedience to it has no role in our justification, does that doctrine not turn us to sinful living? The correct preaching of the gospel begs this question. Salvation by grace through faith apart from works is shocking. So then Paul is trying to answer this question. That is his goal in chapters 6-8. Now ultimately his answer through this section summarized is, "No, it does not lead to sinful living because we are under grace. And God's grace has been unleashed upon our lives to effectively turn us to holiness through the working of the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit succeeds in a way nothing else could." Now, also in this section Paul is dealing with a notion implicit to his oppositions case. That the law is necessary for us to live right. If the gospel dethrones the law as a taskmaster, didn't we need that to spur us to good works? This Paul addresses in Chapters 7, his goal here is one thing, to show that the Law was NEVER able to lead us to righteous behavior, all it could ever produce was death. So the question here is not is this lost or saved, but the focus is on the inability of the Law to produce holiness in us whether we are lost or saved. Therefore it is the gospel in unleashing the grace of God and the Holy Spirit upon us which causes holy living, not the law. In Christ, Beja |